Ioannis Glinavos via Macropolis | Italy’s political crisis and incoming government brings the European Central Bank back to making unpleasant choices as it tries to balance market risks with charting a path out of never-ending stimulus and crisis response measures.
Nick Malkoutzis via Macropolis| Next summer, Greece is due to exit its eight-year programme. Athens and its creditors, who have closely shaped and overseen this long adjustment process, will want to argue that a changed country is emerging. The sorry state of the judicial system currently stands as one of the biggest blots in their copybook. The case against the former head of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), Andreas Georgiou is a case in point.
ATHENS | By Nick Malkoutzis via MacroPolis | Working out how Alexis Tsipras went from anti-austerity crusader to comfortably winning an election while promising to implement the third bailout, and in the process turning a resounding “No” in the July referendum to a humiliating “Yes” a week later, is something that political scientists will study for years to come.
LONDON | Barclays | Despite this clear victory and positive status quo, a number of key questions remain for the post-election era: Will the quarterly targets be met as the macroeconomic outlook worsens? Will the ECB reintroduce the waiver on GGBs and include them in the PSPP programme?
By Jens Bastian via MacroPolis | Many indicators suggest the result is still too close to call, either in terms of winners and losers, or regarding the configuration of any coalition government arrangement.
By Luis Martín via Truman | Professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs (Texas), James K. Galbraith was advisor to the Greek Minister of Finance, Yanis Varoufakis, from February through July 2015. In this interview he spoke about the Greek crisis and the challenges ahead for the euro currency.
By Manos Giakoumis at MacroPolis | Following the European Central Bank’s governing council meeting on Thursday, Mario Draghi provided more detail about issues relating to the eligibility of Greek government bonds (GGBs) for the Quantitative Easing (QE) programme and reinstating the waiver on Greek government securities for ECB funding.
Conn M. Hallinan | On one level, the recent financial agreement between the European Union (EU) and Greece makes no sense. Not a single major economist thinks the $96 billion loan will allow Athens to repay its debts or get the economy moving anywhere but downward.
LONDON | Why the Troika and the EU member states find it so difficult to trust Greece.